Jasper Washburn, right, of Vandalia recently won a 2012 Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle, valued at $4,500, from Wehrle Brothers in Vandalia. He is shown being congratulated by Justin Wehrle of Wehrle Brothers.

Rotary members of District 6490, which includes 53 clubs in Central and East Central Illinois, has announced that they will be sending a team led by a Rotarian with four outstanding professionals to visit District 1800 in North Central Germany. The group will be departing in late May and returning in late June 2012 as part of the Group Study Exchange program of The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International.

During the months of September and October, Vandal Wash is offering a special way for Vandal fans to support the Vandalia Sports Booster Club.
A special access code is available, and each time that code is used for a $10 car wash, $2 will be donated to the Vandalia Sports Booster Club. The club does various projects to enhance local school sports programs and facilities.
The code to benefit the booster club is 1230.

COUNTRY ranked No. 1 in complaint ratio in Illinois
COUNTRY Financial is ranked No. 1 with the lowest complaint ratio among Illinois auto and life insurers in 2010, according to the Illinois Department of Insurance.
COUNTRY has had the lowest auto complaint ratio for 11 of the past 12 years. For every $1 million in written auto premiums, it had .04 complaints, the lowest among the report's other 50 insurers.

The Soroptimist International club of Vandalia recently donated part of the proceeds from its “Vandalia Idol” contest to help finance Fayette County Hospital’s efforts to purchase a digital mammography machine.

The new Denny's restaurant in Vandalia is slated to open at 8 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 21.
Located next to the Fast Stop Travel Center at the western I-70 interchange, the Denny's is owned and managed by Dave Behrends.
He said that the 3,500-square-foot restaurant will have seating for 132 in booths and at the counter.
It will be open 24 hours per day.